John Sentamu: Our leaders must have the guts to derail the gravy train

A MAN asked me recently: "What do you think of the Big Society?" So I told him: "The Big Society? The Church has been doing it for more than 2,000 years!"

There is nothing new in a set of Government policies that looks to encourage individuals and voluntary groups to be enabled, to be engaged within our community, to care for one another.

The Church of England knows all about volunteering. More people do unpaid work for church groups than any other organisation. Churchgoers contribute 23.2 million hours voluntary service each month in their communities.

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The Church of England employs more youth workers than anyone else. It provides activities outside church worship in the local community for more than 500,000 children and young people aged under 16 years, and 38,000 young people aged 16 to 25 years. More than 136,000 volunteers run activity groups for young people which are sponsored by the Church of England.

As one of my predecessors, Archbishop William Temple, said: "The Church is the only organisation that exists for the wellbeing and fraternity of its non-members".

But we must not forget that the State has responsibilities too. There is a reason we pay our taxes. While it is easy to pretend that much of our hard-earned cash goes to fund expense-fiddling MPs, disreputable casino-style banks or mad politically-correct quangos for do-gooders – actually we should expect the state to run and fund strong public services, with our money.

How to raise that money is another question. I am not an economist, and I am not a politician, but to cut investment to vital public services, and to withdraw investment from communities, is madness. You do not escape an economic downturn by cutting investment and by squashing aspirations.

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The Government has signalled for a long time that cuts must be put in place to tackle the economic deficit. The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) is the swinging axe that follows the cuddly blanket and soothing words of the Big Society. I know many people will be afraid

of what it means for them and their families.

There are difficult choices to be made, and real debates to be had about what is the best way forward. Debate, discussion and compromise can all be positive when those involved act in the right spirit. However, we need to ensure that no-one is left behind.

The promotion of social justice should be a primary moral imperative for every government. Doing so means we can stand together as one nation, as one people in solidarity with each other, recognising the dignity of all, and affording all fair and equal opportunities for access and services. Freedom, fraternity and informed choice must characterise our social fabric.

For the first time in many years, we have a coalition Government in place. It is not for me to judge whether the current coalition will be successful, or whether it is a good thing for people in Britain, but I would draw a comparison with the coalition governments of the 1930s, which had to deal with an unprecedented global economic downturn.

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Politicians had to achieve several different, contradictory objectives by putting aside past differences for the sake of the country.

Their aims were to retain Britain's economic position by maintaining the pound; balancing the budget; and providing assistance and relief to tackle unemployment. You could argue these are the same aims of Parliamentarians today.

Perhaps we should reflect on three words that were common in the inter-war years. Duty. Service. Nationhood.

When was the last time you heard these words in a modern political context? We need to get back to putting the interests of others first, where we think about the importance of public policy in creating strong communities and strengthening the country as a whole, in particular by looking out for those who are poor or vulnerable.

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I still find it incredible that following the end of the Second World War, politicians set out on one of the most radical social investment programmes ever seen. The Beveridge Report paved the way for the establishment of institutions that today we take for granted – the creation of a Welfare State, the creation of the NHS and the expansion of National Insurance. Why did the politicians do this? Partly because they had the vision to see something radical had to be done, but also because these reforms were what the public wanted and needed.

William Temple said it was "the first time anyone had set out to embody the whole spirit of the Christian ethic in an Act of Parliament".

You may ask, were the recommendations of The Beveridge

Report "affordable" at the time? The Depression and the Second World War meant that if ever money had been short in history, this would have been it.

Politicians need to be responsible for our economic well-being in the present, while also looking to the needs we will have in the future.

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Are our politicians genuinely looking towards a common good – or are they just looking out for what in electoral terms guarantees success? Democracy, after all, offers the possibility of success but never guarantees it.

Time will tell, but for hard working families – especially those living in the poorest communities – I think we should stand up and call on the State to play its part by investing in Britain's recovery.

What many who may face redundancies will not understand is why the banks who caused the credit crunch and the downturn, and had to be bailed out, are giving themselves huge bonuses. When will the Government have the guts to tackle the huge bank bonus culture? This is a gravy train that is running out of control. Urgent action is needed.

Dr John Sentamu is the Archbishop of York